Prizmic Smells Like Teen Spirit As Djokovic Has First-Round Fright

The Australian Open has a fifteenth day, but it only required a couple of hours on its premiere night to throw up some unexpected headlines. Novak Djokovic and first rounds in Grand Slams don’t tend to make for more than a few standard column inches. Unless he never arrives. See Melbourne 2022. Step forward Dino Prizmic, an 18-year-old major debutant who battled past qualifying and threatened to knock some feathers from the 10-time champion’s perch on Sunday.

Who needs Carlos Alcaraz when an unheralded player can come up on the blindside to cause chaos? There was no evidence early on that the top seed would be troubled as he claimed the first set 6-2 while Prizmic had his left thigh heavily taped after just five games. This was business as usual for the holder. It was all on Djokovic’s racket and the tennis lesson would be a useful rung on the ladder for a player ranked No. 178 in the world. That was the narrative that went through the shredder. The crowd were pleasantly surprised.

Such an inauspicious start from his opponent may have hoodwinked the master of Melbourne into thinking he could get out of there early. Four hours later, it was Djokovic’s longest first-round match of his career in Grand Slams.

The second set started to unravel in ways that were unexpected. The teenager took a 3-1 lead, only to be broken back, but he would not yield. There were crosscourt forehands and engagement with the Rod Laver Arena, a sure sign that he truly felt in the contest. When Djokovic knows he’s in a match, his flustered rating begins to overcharge. Distractions and annoyance were abound. He found himself 2-6 down in the tie-break, which was almost an insult to the man who recorded 15 consecutive shootout wins during the major last year. This wasn’t supposed to happen against a qualifier.

“I think the young guys who are very hungry and very inspired to play their best tennis against me is an additional motivation,” Djokovic told CBS during an interview in December. “I think they kind of awaken a beast in me.” Except that this beast had to be awoken very early. It might still be a vital sign that all is not completely well with the world No. 1 who admitted to feeling under the weather in post-match comments. “I’m double his age. Reality hits hard tonight,” added the victorious but tired 36-year-old.

Prizmic did not play the role of a gallant loser here. Even when he was 4-0 down in the fourth set having lost the last four games of the third, there was more than just futile resistance. To then come back from 0-40 and 3-5 down to force the Serb to serve it out showed that there was no acceptance of the inevitable. To his credit, Djokovic recognised this and was particularly effusive about his opponent. “It could easily have been his match as well. He showed great mentality and resilience. I certainly want to be in his corner. So hopefully he will invite me, because he will make some big things in his career that’s for sure.” The 24-time major winner went further by suggesting it was like looking at himself in the mirror.